Removable mullion



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 680F613 7." Ne (HA/.042

Sept. 19, 1961 G. T. MOCANDLESS REMOVABLE MULLION Filed Dec. 6, 1957Sept. 19, 1961 s. 'r. MCCANDLESS 3,000,052

REMOVABLE MULLION Filed Dec. 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r u HUI 1N VENTOR. GEORGE 7' Na Camp/.533

United States Patent 3,000,062 REMOVABLE MULLION George T. McCandless,New Britain, Conn., assignor to The American Hardware Corporation, NewBritain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Dec. 6, 1957, Ser.No. 701,197 4 Claims. (Cl. 20-11) This invention relates to a mullion ofthe type used to adapt a double door opening for the use of two singledoors carrying rim-type emergency exit locks, and more specifically tosuch a mullion which may be removed when a full double door opening isdesired.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a mullionhaving novel mounting means to which the mullion may be attached withoutthe use of screws or similar fastening elements, thus permitting quickand easy removal of the mullion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mullion havingmounting means which will hold the mullion tightly in position andprevent any movement thereof which might cause rattling ormalfunctioning of the door locks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mullion having mountingmeans which telescopically receive the top and bottom ends of themullion and thus eliminate the necessity of using screws or otherfastening elements for securing the mullion thereto.

A still further object of the invention is to provide mounting meanswhich are particularly adapted for use with tubular mullions that areproduced by an extrusion process.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be more clearlyunderstood from the following descrip- FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectionalside view illustrating the upper end of the mullion and the uppermounting plate.

FIG. 5 is a similar view illustrating the lower mounting plate.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view illustrating the bottom face of the uppermounting plate.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner in which themullion is attached to the lower mounting plate.

The mullion disclosed herein is preferably made of aluminum and isproduced in long lengths having the crosssectional configuration shownin FIG. 1 by any well known extrusion process. A mullion for aparticular door opening is cut to the specified length from an extrudedsection and is mounted in the door opening by the mounting means hereindescribed.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the mullion is inthe form of an elongated, one-piece, tubular member 5 having asubstantially square body portion 6 with a centrally located flange 7 ofreduced width projecting from the front thereof. The exterior surfacesof the side walls of said flange 7 contain serrations 8 which are formedin the extrusion process and thus extend for the entire length of themullion. The interior surfaces of said side walls have ribs 9-9 formedthereon which also extend for the entire length of the mullion, and thecenter-lines of said ribs are indicated on the exterior surfaces of theside walls by enlarged grooves 10- 10 forming part of the serrations 8.

A pair of conventional strike plates 1111 are secured to the side wallsof the flange 7, and the rear surfaces of said plates are provided withvertical serrations adapted to interlock with the serrations 8 of theflange. The strike plates are secured to the mullion by fastening screws12-12 that pass through transverse slots 13-13 in the strike plates,whereby said plates are horizontally adjustable to different positionson the flange. The said strike plates are provided with the usualprojections 14- 14 which are engaged by latch bolts 15-15 extending fromemergency exit locks 16-16 that are carried on doors 17-17 which closeagainst the front edge of the flange 7 as shown in FIG. 1. The provisionof serrations for the entire length of the mullion permits mounting ofthe strike plates in alignment with the latch bolts anywhere along theflange 7, and the enlarged grooves 10-10 provide convenient means forlocating the drill used to drill the holes for the fastening screws12-12 exactly in the centers of the ribs 9-9.

In accordance with my invention, the mullion is mounted in a double dooropening between the floor, or threshold 18, and the head jamb 19 of thedoor frame by a lower mounting plate 20 and an upper mounting plate 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower mounting plate 20 is preferably fiat andgenerally of the same shape as the interior cross-sectional shape of themullion so that it is adapted to fit snugly and be entirely receivedWithin the end portion of said mullion; the tongue 20-a on said plateextending only partway into the flange 7 so as not to interfere with theribs 9-9. The intermediate portions of the opposite sides of themounting plate are outwardly curved providing bulges, or projections,22-22 thereon whose curved surfaces meet the straight portions of saidsides inwardly of the adjacent corners of the plate and engage the flatbottoms of longitudinal channels 23-23 formed in the side walls of themullion. The width of the mounting plate across the center of the bulgesis slightly greater than the interior width of the mullion between thebottoms of the channels 23-23 so that a very tight fit is establishedbetween the mounting plate and the mullion. In actual practice, thedifference in widths is on the order of .025 of an inch so that the sideWalls of the mullion are actually deformed when the mullion is placedover the plate, but the deformation is so slight that it is notnoticeable.

It will be seen in FIG. 1 that the channels 23-23 are wider than thebulges 22-22 and thus extend over the sides of the relatively narrow endportions 24-24 of the mounting plate that fit snugly into the corners ofthe mullion, and that the curved surfaces of said bulges recede from thepoints where they engage the bottoms of said channels. This constructiongreatly facilitates the mounting of the mullion on the plate 20 as willbe here inafter described.

A plurality of holes are formed in the lower mounting plate 20 for thereception of fastening devices, such as screws 25, which secure theplate to the floor 18.

The upper mounting plate 21 has a recess 26 in its bottom face whichconforms generally to the exterior shape of the mullion and includes anenlarged portion 26a that extends inwardly from the rear edge of theplate and receives the body 6 of the mullion, and a narrow portion 26-bthat extends from said enlarged portion to the front edge of the plateand receives the flange 7. The length of said plate 21 is equal to thedepth of the mullion so that the front wall of the flange 7 and the rearWall of the body 6 will be disposed flush with the respective edges ofthe plate as shown in FIG. 4. The said plate contains a plurality ofcountersunk holes 27 which extend therethrough from the bottom of therecess 3 26 and receive screws 28 that secure the plate to the head jamb19 of the door frame.

The upper end of the mullion is retained in the recess 26 in the uppermounting plate 21 by a retaining bar 29 which extends across the openend of the recess 26 and is secured at its opposite ends to the rearedge of said plate by screws 303i). Referring further to FIG. 4, it willbe noted that the body 6 of the mullion is confined between theretaining bar 29 and shoulders 26c 26c at the front of the enlargedportion of the recess 26.

In order to install the mullion, the lower mounting plate 20 and theupper mounting plate 21 are first secured to the floor 18 and the headjamb 19, respectively, in proper position; the retaining bar 29 havingbeen previously removed. The mullion is then held at an angle to thefloor, .as shown in FIG. 7, and its lower end is placed over the rearend portion 24 of the lower mounting plate so that said portion isreceived between the side walls of the body 6 of the mullion and thuspositions the mullion with respect to the mounting plate. The mullion isthen pressed downwardly and at the same time is swung toward thevertical in a direction parallel to said sides of the mounting plate asindicated by the arrow in FIG. 7. It will be understood that, since thedistance a between the bottoms of the channels 2323 in the mullion isgreater than the width of the rear end portion 24 of the mounting plate,the lower edges of said channels will first engage the curved upperedges of the bulges 2222 at a point between the center of the bulges andtheir intersection with the straight sides defining the rear endportionof the plate and will engage said edges at an angle. The sidewalls of the mullion will therefore be gradually'spread apart by thebulges while the mullion is moved toward its vertical position.

As the mullion approaches its vertical position, its upper end is guidedinto the recess 26 in the upper mounting plate until the front wall ofthe body portion 6 engages the'shoulders 26c-26c. The retaining bar 29is then secured to the upper mounting plate and the installation iscomplete.

My improved mullion may be easily removed from the door opening byremoving the retaining bar 29 and swinging the said mullion inwardlyuntil its bottom end is disengaged from the lower mounting plate 20.

I claim:

1. In a removable mullion assembly for installation between thethreshold and the head jamb of a door opening, the combination of anelongated tubular mullion member having opposed yieldable sidewalls, amounting plate fitting within the lower end portion of said mullionmember and adapted to be secured to said threshold for positioning saidmullion member thereon, said mounting plate being of a height such thatsaid mullion member may be swung into a vertical position thereover whenpivoted about a lower edge thereof in a direction parallel to saidsidewalls, said mounting plate having outwardly projecting portions atits opposite'sides engaging the sidewalls of said mullion member andbeing of greater maximum width across said outwardly projecting portionsthan the interior width of said mullion member between its saidsidewalls whereby said sidewalls are distorted to provide a tight fitbetween said mounting plate and said mullion member, the upper edges ofsaid outwardly projecting portions of said mounting plate beingengageable by said sidewalls of the mullion member as it is swung into avertical position thereover and adapted to cam said sidewalls outwardlyover the sides of said mounting plate.

2. In a removable mullion assembly for installation between thethreshold and the head jamb of a door opening, the combination of anelongated tubular mullion member having a front wall, a rear wall'andopposed yieldable sidewalls, a mounting plate fitting within the lowerend of said mullion member and adapted to be secured to said threshold,said mounting plate engaging said walls of the mullion member toposition said mullion member on said threshold, the opposite sides ofsaid mounting plate including terminal portions fitting freely betweensaid sidewalls and outwardly curved portions extending from saidterminal portions, the maximum width of said mounting plate across saidoutwardly curved portions being greater than the interior width of saidmullion memberbetween its said sidewalls whereby said sidewalls aredistorted by said outwardly curved portions to provide a tight fitbetween said mounting plate and said mullion member, said mounting platebeing of a height such that said mullion member may be positioned at anangle thereto with its said sidewalls disposed over said terminalportions and swung into a'vertical position thereover, the upper edgesof said outwardly curved portions being engaged bysaid sidewalls as saidmullion member is moved toward vertical position and adapted to cam saidsidewalls outwardly and over the sides of said mounting plate.

3. In a removable mullion assembly for installation between thethreshold'and the head jamb of a door opening, the combination of anelongated tubular mullion member having a front wall, a rear wall andopposed yieldable sidewalls containing longitudinally extending channelsin their inner surfaces, a mounting plate fitting within the lower endportions of said mullion member and adapted to be attached to saidthreshold, said mounting plate conforming substantially to the interiorcross-sectional shape of said mullion member and engaging said wallsthereof to position said mullion member on said threshold, the oppositesides of said mounting plate including terminal portions fitting freelybetween said sidewalls and outwardly curved portions extending from saidterminal portions and engaging the bottoms of said channels, the maximumwidth of said mounting plate across said outwardly curved portions beinggreater thanthe interior width of said mullion member between thebottoms of said channels so that said sidewalls are distorted by saidoutwardly curved portions to provide a tight fit between said mountingplate and said mullion member, said mounting plate being of a heightsuch that said mullionmember may be positioned at an angle thereto withits said sidewalls disposed over said terminal portions and swung into avertical position thereover, the lower edges of the bottoms of saidchannels being engageable with the upper edges of said outwardly curvedportions whereby said sidewalls of themullion member are cammedoutwardly andover the sides of said mounting plate as said mullionmember ismoved toward vertical position.

4. The subject matter of claim 3 including, in addition, a separatemounting plate attachable to said head jamb and having a recesstherein-opening to an edge of the plate and adapted to receive the upperend of the mullion member as it is rocked toward vertical position, anda retaining bar detachably secured to said mounting plateand extendingover said recess'for retaining the upper end of the mullion membertherein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS MolerMar. 13, 1956

